Logo Competition of the 17th Subud World Congress AND THE WINNER IS……

Arifin Dwi Slamet, from Subud Sidoarjo, Indonesia.

Here is his response:

I read your email the moment I woke up this morning at 6:00 AM (Jakarta time), and I got this sudden, intense rush in my chest—exactly the feeling I get when a brilliant idea hits me for work (I’m a copywriter, creative director, and brand strategist for a brand communications agency). I was thrilled but also completely in disbelief! I kept thinking, "No way, did my design for the 17th Subud World Congress actually win?" To be honest, I just did it for fun. As a branding consultant constantly pushed by clients to be creative, I often spend my downtime doodling ideas to save in my inspiration bank.

A huge thank you to the World Congress Logo Contest judges for choosing my design as the winner. I hope the energy of the upcoming Congress is every bit as vibrant as the colours in the logo.

Electing a logo for the next world congress seems like a fun task, and it was!

A team of seven judges, consisting of WSA representatives and one professional Subud designer, gracefully facilitated by WCOT communications coordinator Fatimah Bustillo, had to consider some 70 designs presented by 35 designers. To be as objective as possible, the names of the designers were removed for the judges.

We were looking for that special image, representing the indescribable Subud feeling we experience during a world congress. Quite a challenge, with many designs strongly focussing on the sanctuary building in Fatima as the most prominent local landmark, while other designs featured typical Portuguese objects or characteristics, like decorative tiles and food. Some avoided all of that and just worked with text in different styles.

During our first meeting, Fatimah talked us through all the 70 designs. Many of them included written statements and explanations. We then each had to pick our top three in the following week.

In the second meeting we discussed the designs that had been elected as the best three by every judge, with some clearly getting more votes than others. But even the ones with the most votes, had several ‘problems’ that needed to be solved.

Totally unexpected, the design we all felt comfortable with in the end, appeared out of the blue when one of the judges asked the others how they felt about this option, explaining that it seemed different in the sense of presenting a very free and spontaneous feeling, not tied to any worldly objects or philosophy, and radiating vitality as well as diversity.

In his rather detailed Creative Rationale, Arifin explains the various elements of his design. His core visual philosophy was “Unity through Fluidity”, using colours that represent the “Spectrum of Humanity”. The logo symbolises openness and inclusion, and the silhouette subtly suggests the iconic Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary in Fatima, seen through a spiritual lens. The minimalist font allows the complex, colourful logo to breathe. It suggests that while our spiritual experiences are rich, our outward approach to the world is simple, clear and humble.

To be honest, the judges had overlooked this one at first, but after having a closer look, they agreed that this was going to be the winner. The design is abstract, although one may associate it with the SUBUD acronyms which, according to the designer, is a coincidence. Moreover, it’s full of movement and joy, like a dance of different elements that belong together and complete each other.

The judges felt that this design would be well accepted by both Subud and non-Subud people and is easy to identify and remember.

We want to give a BIG THANK YOU to all the designers who submitted their creative ideas! It’s been an honour to receive so many designs, and we hope you’ve had fun with it, even if your design hasn’t been selected. We surely did enjoy the process, and we are very grateful for all the contributions that we received.

The team of judges consisted of: Hamid da Silva (WCOT Coordinator), Rifka Several (WSA Chair), Arifin Konrad (ISC Chair), Amanda Rivera (WSA Communications Coordinator), Farah Czwiertnia (ISC Vice Chair), Margarita Fisco (Designer), and Hannah de Roo (WSA Deputy Chair).